Source: Radio New Zealand
There are heavy rain warnings for the north and west of the South Island. METSERVICE / SCREENSHOT
Heavy rain is expected for the parts of the South Island through until the weekend with MetService issuing orange heavy rain warnings.
MetService said heavy rain was expected for most of the West Coast on Thursday morning which would continue through until Friday or Saturday.
There was a risk of surface flooding and slips on the whole of the West Coast, MetService meteorologist Alanna Burrows said.
She said people should avoid low lying areas and drive cautiously on the roads.
The areas likely to experience the heaviest rain on Thursday would be Westland and the Tasman District, Burrows said.
Westland could expect up to 350mm of rain, she said while the Tasman district could see up to 400mm which was a “huge” amount of rain.
The orange heavy rain warnings were in place for Tasman District, northwest of Motueka, Buller District, Westland District, the headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers, headwaters of Otago lakes and rivers and Fiordland north of Doubtful Sound.
The warnings were in place from 12pm on Thursday until Friday evening for Tasman District and from 10am Thursday until 7pm Friday for the Buller District.
The New Zealand Transport Agency warned motorists to prepare for difficult driving conditions.
Along with the heavy rain, the lower North Island could expect severe gales on Friday in Wellington and Taranaki, Burrows said.
Things would ease off on Sunday, she said.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand